Street Emptied by Bogus 'No Parking' Sign

NEW YORK Sep 1, 2006 (AP)— Several Brooklyn residents woke up to find their street empty because someone had posted a No Parking sign and police had towed their rides.

The sign, which bans parking on a street in the DUMBO neighborhood from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, mysteriously appeared Monday or Tuesday, residents said, and then police started ticketing and towing cars parked there.

But the Department of Transportation says there aren't any parking restrictions in the area and it doesn't know who posted the placard, which looks official.

Resident David Bourgeois said he had to pay $205 to retrieve his Mini Cooper, with a $60 ticket on the windshield, from a police pound Wednesday after it was hauled away.

"It's just outrageous," he told the Daily News for Friday editions.

The DOT said it would try to dismiss the ticket and take down the No Parking sign.
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